Carlos Garcia and the Junior Deputy Badge
by mIsS-vIcToRy96
Summary: Five-year-old Carlos Garcia Jr. gets a Junior Deputy from Officer Garcia, who tells him to guard it with his life. What will Carlos do?


**So I got the idea for this a few weeks ago while cleaning out the infamous 'Junk Drawer' in my room. I found one of those little fake Highway Patrol sticker badges—you know, the kind police officers would pass out if you ever visited the station or if they came to your school? I saw it and my short attention span led me to think of this fluffy and cutesy little one-shot about Carlos and if he ever were to have one. The idea has been in the back of my mind for the last two weeks and was threatening to kill me. ****NOTE:**** Just in case anyone is confused at who 'Lito' is—its Carlos Jr. You know how everyone calls him 'Carlitos'? Well that's kinda a mouthful sometimes, in my opinion. So I decided Lito could be a cute little pet name **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Big Time Rush. The only thing I own is Bruce Jackson  
**

* * *

Six-year-old Carlos Garcia Jr. was ecstatic beyond belief. Today his father had the day off of work, and the two of them were going to the park! Carlos was currently sitting on the floor, staring intently at the two shirts hanging off the end of his bed—one Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the other Power Rangers. His little brow scrunched in concentration. Carlos had been sitting like this for the last ten minutes, trying to decide which shirt he was going to wear. He had decided it would be between these two shirts, both of which were his favorites. Suddenly the little Latino had an idea. Using one hand to cover his eyes, he used the other to play 'Eenie Meenie Miney Moe'.

Upon finishing the rhyme, he opened his chocolate eyes to find his finger pointed at the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt. He made a face, shook his head, and decided to wear the Power Rangers one instead. He tossed the other shirt back into the open drawer where it belonged before sliding over to where his shoes were located. He grabbed the first pair he saw—gray Velcro shoes that lit up when he walked (Carlos hadn't quite learned how to tie his shoes yet. He still managed to form intricate knots that took several minutes to untangle.) Once they were on, he grabbed his lucky helmet, patting it twice before racing out the door.

"Carlitos! Come on, mijo! We need to stop by the station real quick before we can go to the park!" his father's voice called from down the hallway. Carlos' spirits dropped a little, but quickly picked back up. Carlos loved going to the station with his father. The people there were extremely nice, and occasionally his father's partner, Officer Jackson, would give him a doughnut.

After clambering into the back seat of his dad's car and fastening himself into his booster seat, they were off. After what seemed like an eternity to Carlos, the car slowed to a stop. He glanced out the window and grinned at the building in front of him. He immediately lunged for the door, only to realize he couldn't reach it. He sat back, unbuckled his seat belt, and tired again. This time he could reach the door, but – what's this? The door wouldn't open! Carlos tugged at the handle furiously, but to no avail. Suddenly he heard laughter. Was that his Papi? Laughing at _him_? Carlos Garcia Sr. opened the driver's side door and hit a button. The door clicked, and little Carlos tumbled out onto the pavement, ears burning with embarrassment.

"Don't worry, mijo, it was my fault" Officer Garcia chuckled, pulling his son to his feet. "I didn't unlock the door when I got out." That made Carlos feel a bit better. He nodded, and followed his father through the doors of the police building.

"Morning, Carlos! Morning, other Carlos!" exclaimed a cheerful looking man. He was about the same age as Officer Garcia, with blonde hair that stuck out haphazardly.

"Morning, Bruce!" Officer Garcia replied. He nudged Carlos gently with the side of his hand. "Tell Mr. Jackson good morning, Lito" he whispered.

"Morning, Mr. Jackson!" Carlos dictated with his signature smile. Jackson chuckled.

"Big Carlos, Maria has the paperwork for you. Little Carlos, come with me. I have something for you" he said with a smile. Carlos glanced at his dad, who nodded before turning and running after the blonde man.

Soon they reached the break room. Carlos spotted a pink box on the counter. One word popped into his hyperactive mind—_doughnuts!_ Officer Jackson chuckled before reaching into the box and grabbing a chocolate-frosted doughnut for the eager six-year-old. Carlos shouted his thanks before snatching the pastry and started to cram it into his small mouth. When he looked up, Jackson stood before him with something in his hand. He cocked his head slightly to the side, wondering what it was. Jackson crouched down to his height.

"Carlos, know what this is? It's a Junior Deputy badge. Only special kids get one of these. Do you want one?" The small Latino boy nodded his head vigorously, crumbs flying off of his face. At that moment, Officer Garcia reappeared. He smiled at the eager look on his son's face.

"Lito" he said jokingly, eyes twinkling, "You need to guard that with your life!" Carlos stood in awe. He swallowed the giant mouthful of doughnut before answering.

"THANK YOU MR. JACKSON!" he screamed, running down the hallway and back out into the parking lot. He stood by the back shotgun-side door, bouncing on his toes, waiting for his Papi to come back and unlock the door so they could go to the park. Officer Garcia meanders outside, chuckling at his son's impatience to go. Once he made sure their seatbelts were fastened, they began their trip to the park.

* * *

**THREE HOURS LATER:**

The two Carlos's were met in the driveway by Mrs. Garcia, smiling. She extracted her son from the back seat as he began chattering about how much fun he had that day.

"…And Mami, guess what I did ALL BY MYSELF! I rode the big slide! And I jumped off the swings and the see-saw and…" he was cut off by a gentle hand being held up.

"Honey, I have to go finish dinner. Why don't you go put on your jacket and go play with the boys for a little while until dinner is ready? I saw Kendall and James out with Logan on his driveway."

"Okay, Mami!" he called, already racing up the stairs. He carefully set his 'badge' down on his little desk and grabbed a jacket off of the chair before shutting the door behind him and flying down the stairs.

* * *

**AFTER DINNER:**

"Carlitos, why don't you go get your badge and show Mami?" Officer Garcia inquired, grinning. Carlos nodded enthusiastically, placed his plate in the sink, and began jumping up the stairs. Once he reached his room, he turned to the desk where he had set the badge. What he saw caused him to freeze completely. Where was his badge? _I probably moved it to my bedside table_ he thought in an attempt to remain optimistic. He crossed the room to his bedside table. Still no badge. Carlos began to panic. He sunk to the floor, wrapping his arms around his knees.

"_Lito, you need to guard that with your life!"_ he recalled his father saying. Carlos had failed. Now he was going to lose his life! Carlos didn't want to die—there was so much he hadn't done yet! He hadn't got to ride the big kid coasters at the fair, score the winning goal in a hockey game, or even make it to the first grade!

As the small boy sat on the floor, near tears, his father had walked in. Carlos had been upstairs for a long time. He knew the boy had the attention span of an ant, but he thought he would have found the sicker and come back downstairs faster than that! He noticed he was curled up on the floor, a single tear making its way down his cheeks. Officer Garcia was concerned now. His son didn't cry unless something was important. Well, there were _some_ times… It wasn't important. All that was important was the fact that his son was on the floor, crying.

"Hijo, what's the matter? Why are you crying?" he inquired, crouching down so he was closer to the boy. The boy jumped, not having heard his father come in. Slowly he sat up so he could look him in the face.

"Papi, I-I…" he trailed off. He pulled his knees back up to his chest and began to rock back and forth. Officer Garcia sighed. Carlos always did this when he was afraid. He slowly rubbed his back, trying to calm the boy down enough to form coherent sentences. After a few minutes, the small boy had stopped shaking and sat up straight..

"Papi, you know that badge Mr. Jackson gave me?" he began

"Sure, hijo. What about it?"

"Well, I…"

"Lito, beating around the bush doesn't help anything."

Carlos was confused. What did hitting people with a brush have to do with anything? He shrugged the thought away.

"Ilostthebadge!" the words tumbled from his lips, tripping and slurring over one another.

"Come again?"

"I lost my badge." He whispered "And now I'm gonna die!" he cried out.

Officer Garcia released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. _That's_ what had his son freaking out? A sticker? He began to chuckle. His son was so naïve sometimes!

Carlos was confused. Why was his Papi laughing at him? Laughing at people wasn't nice! He had found that out the hard way after laughing when Jerry Hewson slipped and fell on his backside during recess. Carlos had laughed so hard _he_ almost fell over, but Miss Masdon, the teacher, didn't find it very funny. He had to apologize for laughing, and then write _I will not laugh at people's pain_ twenty times on a piece of paper. The writing was challenging enough, as Carlos wasn't the best speller, but figuring out how many twenty times was ended up being up _much_ harder.

Officer Garcia noticed his son's hurt and confused look and ceased his chortling immediately.

"Don't worry, Lito. I'm not laughing at you." He explained. "I'm laughing because I thought something bad had happened to you."

"But something bad _did_ happen, Papi! You told me to guard my badge with my life, and I lost it! Now I'm going to DIE!" the boy cried indignantly. "You said so!"

"Carlos," Officer Garcia explained patiently, struggling to hide the smile that was threatening to show on his face. "I didn't mean you would die if you lost it!" The boy's face screwed up in thought. He sat like this for a minute before speaking.

"So I'm _not_ gonna die?" his father nodded. "You better not be lying."

He raised his right hand. "Scout's honor." He said with a chuckle.

"Silly, you're not a Boy Scout!" Carlos said, giggling at his father's goofiness. The older man smiled in response. Suddenly he had an idea.

"I have an idea, Lito." He declared. The boy stopped laughing instantly. "How about we go to the station and get you another badge. Heck—let's get you _two_ badges!" Carlos's jaw dropped. _TWO badges?That is better than ONE badge!_ he thought. The younger Carlos was exuberant. He jumped up and threw himself at his father, effectively knocking him over onto the floor. He began thanking him a million times and began telling him how much he loved him.

* * *

**The Next Day:**

"Lito, did you ever show your mami your badges? Why don't you go get one and bring it down so she can see it?" he asked. The small boy nodded his helmeted head vigorously, racing up the stairs two at a time, nearly falling down several times in the process.

He flung open his door, turning to his bedside table where he had left the two stickers earlier. Or so he thought. Where were the badges? He ran and stuck his head out of the door.

"Papi!" he called.

* * *

**A/N: Oh, Carlos! Will you ever learn? **

**For anyone wondering when S.T.U.P.I.D. will be updated: I have most of the chapter in the notebook stage. I just need to find the time to finish it and type it up.**

**For anyone wondering why I have time to type this and not S.T.U.P.I.D.? Well, I had almost all of this already typed up, I just had to do the ending. I've been busy, as my English teacher gives us a load of homework *****dies*******

**So again, thank you for taking the time to read this. Reviews are greatly appreciated. **


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